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Academic Commons Search Resultsen-usJadeitite formed during subduction: In situ zircon geochronology constraints from two different tectonic events within the Guatemala Suture Zonehttps://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:162607
Flores Reyes, Kennet E.; Martens, Uwe C.; Harlow, George E.; Brueckner, Hannes K.; Pearson, Norman J.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:20828Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:59:55 +0000Jadeitite is a rare rock type associated with high-pressure–low-temperature blocks within serpentinite matrix mélanges. Models of formation involve precipitation from subduction-zone aqueous fluids veining the overlying mantle wedge (P-type), or metasomatism of igneous and/or sedimentary protoliths previously emplaced into the mélange (R-type). Age determinations of mélange lithologies provide constraints on the timing of “peak metamorphism” and subsequent exhumation. The timing of jadeitite formation, particularly in the rich source of the Guatemala Suture Zone (GSZ), is a controversial subject needing further attention.
Over 80 in situ zircon crystals from three jadeitites and two mica–albite rocks from the North Motagua Mélange and one phengite jadeitite from the South Motagua Mélange of the GSZ were studied for age and trace-element determination. Most of these zircons are characterized by low Th/U ratios, depleted chondrite-normalized REE patterns relative to zircons from oceanic gabbros, and contain fluid and mineral inclusions that reflect the primary mineralogy (i.e., jadeite) and context (i.e., crystallization from an aqueous fluid) of the host rock, and thus formed during jadeitite crystallization. The SHRIMP-RG and LAM-ICP-MS U–Pb dates from zircon indicate that jadeitites and mica–albite rocks from the GSZ were formed through vein precipitation at ~98−80 and ~154–158 Ma, respectively. These data show (a) older ages that indicate jadeitite crystallization occurred ~10–30 Ma before the preserved subduction-zone peak metamorphism (e.g., exhumed eclogite), and (b) a second group of ages slightly younger than, or similar to, exhumation ages given by Ar–Ar dates from micas. Similar relationships occur at other jadeitite occurrences, such as the Syum-Keu ultramafic complex in the Polar Urals (Russia) and the serpentinite mélanges of the Río San Juan complex (Dominican Republic). The data argue for formation of jadeitite within the mantle wedge during active subduction. Thus, jadeitite provides a record of fluid introduction into the mantle wedge during subduction rather than during exhumation.Geology, Plate tectonics, Environmental sciencekef2126, geh10, hkb2Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryArticlesTiming of eclogite-facies metamorphism of the Chuacús complex, Central Guatemala: Record of Late Cretaceous continental subduction of North America's sialic basementhttps://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:147665
Martens, Uwe C.; Brueckner, Hannes K.; Mattinson, Christopher G.; Liou, Juhn G.; Wooden, Joseph L.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:13432Thu, 07 Jun 2012 11:32:34 +0000A Late Cretaceous collision of the southernmost portion of the North American continental margin with an undetermined southern block was first established based on the sedimentation history of the plate's supracrustal cover, which is overthrust by harzburgite-dominated nappes of the Guatemala Suture Complex. The collision is also well registered in the metamorphic evolution of continental eclogites of the Chuacús complex, a geologic unit that represents Mesoproterozoic–Triassic sialic basement of North America at the boundary with the Caribbean plate. Garnet–clinopyroxene–phengite thermobarometry of eclogites hosted in Chuacús gneisses indicates near ultra-high-pressure conditions to ~ 700 °C and ~ 2.1–2.4 GPa. SHRIMP-RG U–Pb dating of eclogite metamorphic zircon yielded a 75.5 ± 2 Ma age (95% confidence level). Chondrite-normalized rare-earth element patterns of zircon lack Eu anomalies and show depletions in heavy rare earths, consistent with zircon growing in a plagioclase-free, garnet-rich, eclogite-facies assemblage. Additionally, a Sm–Nd clinopyroxene-two garnet–whole rock isochron from an eclogite band yielded a less precise but consistent age of 77 ± 13 Ma. The above features imply subduction to > 60 km depth of at least a portion of the North American sialic basement during Late Cretaceous collision. The Chuacús complex was overprinted by an amphibolite-facies event. For instance, mafic high-pressure paragneiss contains symplectite, resorbed garnet, and amphibole + plagioclase poikiloblasts. Zircon rims from the paragneiss sample show rare-earth patterns consistent with plagioclase growth and garnet breakdown. Their 74.5 ± 3.5 Ma SHRIMP-RG U–Pb age is therefore interpreted as the time of retrogression, which is consistent with previously published results. Within error, the ages of the eclogite-facies event and the amphibolite-facies retrogression are equivalent. Thus exhumation of the Chuacús slab from mantle to mid-crustal depth was quick, taking few million years. During exhumation, partial melting of Chuacús gneisses generated ubiquitous pegmatites. One of the pegmatites intruded the North Motagua mélange, which is a serpentinite-rich subduction complex of the Guatemala Suture Complex containing Early Cretaceous oceanic eclogites. U–Pb, Rb–Sr, and K–Ar ages of the pegmatite range ~ 76–66 Ma. Thus initial juxtaposition of continental and oceanic high-pressure belts of the Guatemala Suture Complex predates Tertiary–present strike-slip faulting between the North-American and Caribbean plates.Plate tectonicshkb2Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryArticles